The alkaline activation of a carbonized graphene oxide/dextrin mixture yielded a carbon-based nanoscale material (AC-TR) with a unique highly porous structure. The BET-estimated specific surface area of the material is 3167 m2/g, which is higher than the specific surface area of a graphene layer. The material has a density of 0.34 g/cm3 and electrical resistivity of 0.25 Ω·cm and its properties were studied using the elemental analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction (ED), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in the plasmon excitation range. From these data, we derive an integral understanding of the structure of this material. The concentration of sp3 carbon atoms was found to be relatively low with an absolute value that depends on the measurement method. It was shown that there is no graphite-like (002) peak in the electron and X-ray diffraction pattern. The characteristic size of a sp2-domain in the basal plane estimated from the Raman spectra was 7 nm. It was also found that plasmon peaks in the EELS spectrum of AC-TR are downshifted compared to those of graphite.
Keywords: Raman spectroscopy; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; activated carbon with high specific surface area; concentration of sp3 carbon atoms; electron energy-loss spectroscopy.